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In Focus | DRC, United States
US disillusioned over failure to turn DR Congo away from Beijing

Ever since Félix Tshisekedi took power, Washington had hoped he would curb China's huge influence in the country. Four years later, the United States is bitterly disappointed that it has failed to break Beijing's hegemony in strategic mining issues. [...]

Published on 05/09/2022 at 06:00 GMT Reading time 7 minutes Olivier Liffran

US president Joe Biden and his Congolese counterpart Félix Tshisekedi in October 2021. © Erin Schaff/Pool via Reuters

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Mining, Diplomacy

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DRC
Amos Hochstein
Antony Blinken
APLC
China Machinery Engineering Corp
China Molybdenum Co
China Railway Group
Christophe Lutundula
Dan Gertler
Donald Trump
FBI
Felix Tshisekedi
Freeport-McMoRan
Gecamines
General Electric
Guylain Nyembo
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Jean-Claude Kabongo
Joe Biden
Joseph Kabila
Jules Alingete
Léon Mwine Kabiena
Lucy Tamlyn
Mike Hammer
Sama Lukonde Kyenge
Sinohydro
Tenke Fungurume Mining
Thierry Mbulamoko
Union pour la democratie et le progres social
Xi Jinping
Xu Jinghu
Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co
Zhu Jing

DRC
Sanctions against Dan Gertler continue to divide Washington

The possibility of temporarily lifting sanctions against Israeli mining magnate Dan Gertler is still under discussion in Washington but is far from being unanimously supported.

Subscribers only Mining 14.03.2024

DRC
Belgian ambassador's low-profile meeting with Joseph Kabila

On her first official visit to the country in late November, Belgium's ambassador to the DRC, Roxane de Bilderling, travelled to Lubumbashi and met with former president Joseph Kabila.

Subscribers only Diplomacy 01.12.2023

DRC
Sicomines dispute likely to cast shadow over Tshisekedi's Beijing trip

DRC president Felix Tshisekedi will travel to Beijing on 26 May for a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, during which an attempt to find a solution to the dispute over the mining firm Sicomines could be made.

Subscribers only Mining 10.05.2023

DRC
Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang keeps close eye on eastern DRC

Appointed as China's top diplomat at the end of last year, Qin Gang can rely on a small team who are very familiar with Africa's Great Lakes region.

Subscribers only Diplomacy 31.03.2023

DRC
Kinshasa hones Sicomines strategy ahead of talks with Chinese partner

President Felix Tshisekedi has asked his ministers and advisers to set out the key requests the government will take to the Chinese part of Sicomines. The two sides need to meet to negotiate a 'review' of its mining convention.

Subscribers only Infrastructure, Mining 27.03.2023

DRC
Kinshasa blocks Sicomines imports to force contract review

The state auditor is stepping up pressure on the miner owned by China and DRC in the hope of forcing the initial 2008 deal between Kinshasa and Beijing to be renegotiated.

Subscribers only Mining 19.01.2023

DRC
$15m luxury cars contract for DRC's embassies awarded to finance minister Kazadi's brother

DR Congo's foreign affairs minister Christophe Lutundula signed a contract in December 2021 for the delivery of 167 vehicles to embassies around the world. The deal was awarded to Sada Motors, a company in which the finance minister's brother Nicola Kazadi is a minority shareholder.

Subscribers only Business, Diplomacy 12.12.2022

Inner circles | DRC
Gécamines boss Kaputo Kalubi stymied by political interference

The close political and financial scrutiny of the DRC's state-owned mining firm is hobbling its efforts to develop Katanga's natural resources, and its new management team has been unable to carry out the necessary restructuring.

Subscribers only Mining 02.12.2022

Gécamines headquarters in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, on the 16th January 2021.

In Focus | West Africa
Where next for mining's wild child, Robert Friedland?

From Singapore to Monrovia, via New York and Conakry, the American-Canadian tycoon Robert Friedland is one of the global mining sector's most flamboyant figures. Well established in the DR Congo, he is working behind the scenes in Conakry and Monrovia to expand his empire in West Africa.

Subscribers only Mining 24.10.2022

Ivanhoe Mines founder Robert Friedland at a conference in Cape Town in 2022.

Guinea
Robert Friedland's discreet meetings with Guinea coup leader Doumbouya

The mining magnate Robert Friedland was received three times in July and September by the Guinean junta leader Mamadi Doumbouya. The billionaire and the colonel discussed at great length projects and strategy for developing the country's mining sector.

Subscribers only Mining 27.09.2022

Robert Friedland addresses the delegates at the African Mining Indaba 2022 conference in Cape Town, South Africa, May 11, 2022.

Spotlight | Africa
ExxonMobil, Chevron, Marathon... US giants start mass exodus from the continent

With the exception of Namibia and Mozambique, Africa has ceased to be attractive to US oil companies, which are gradually withdrawing from the market. This strategy is the opposite of that adopted by the Chinese and Russians, which are continuing to push ahead.

Subscribers only Energy 13.09.2022

DRC
France, UK and US seek to block Russian ambitions in DRC

Put on alert by the turn of events in the Central African Republic and Mali, Western powers are worried about a potential rapprochement between the DRC and Russia and are hoping the UN will at least continue to enforce its arms embargo in the country.

Subscribers only Diplomacy 05.07.2022

DRC
Manono lithium keen to take better advantage of US investor interest

Tantalex, a Canadian firm exploring lithium in the Manono area, plans to upgrade to a new US market to tap into booming US demand for this metal essential to the energy transition.

Subscribers only Mining 08.06.2022

DRC
Fortescue has eyes on Dan Gertler's former iron ore project

Australian Fortescue is developing a hydroelectric project for Kinshasa and has its sights set on an iron ore deposit owned until recently by Dan Gertler.

Subscribers only Infrastructure, Mining 06.06.2022

DRC
Anglo American shows renewed interest in Lualaba and Haut-Katanga

Many years after ceasing exploration in Katanga, the mining giant Anglo American appears to be considering a return to the country.

Subscribers only Mining 03.06.2022

DRC
Taiwan tries to force the DRC to repay a 30-year-old debt

Taiwan's lawyers, who won a US court ruling in 2017 ordering the DRC to pay $57.3m for an unpaid debt dating back to 1991, are now trying to target Congolese assets in the US.

Subscribers only Mining, Business 30.05.2022

DRC
State firm competes with local and foreign groups on mining freight market

The state-owned shipping company Lignes Maritimes Congolaises plans to launch its export service from the DRC on 1 June, with its primary target being mining groups.

Subscribers only Mining 30.05.2022

DRC
Trafigura plays catch-up on cobalt and copper with two deals worth a billion dollars

Having already secretly signed a $400m financing deal with the Chinese firm Chengtun, which has taken over Nzuri Copper's mines, the Genevan trader Trafigura is now set to finalise a deal with Chemaf first announced in late January.

Subscribers only Mining, Commodity traders 12.05.2022

Spotlight | DRC
Several paths forward for giant Manono lithium project

Manono deposit's Australian operator, AVZ Minerals, says its future looks bright on this world-class lithium project but there are few uncertainties about its development.

Free access Mining 26.04.2022

DRC
Huayou Cobalt tries to salvage its Congolese supply

The Chinese group has taken advantage of Gécamines' reluctance to pursue artisanal mining at the Kasulo mine, which Kinshasa wanted to suspend. But if it wants to keep its access to Congolese cobalt, this provider of large battery manufacturers in China will have to invest more in the sector's modernisation.

Subscribers only Mining, Commodity traders 25.03.2022

DRC
Kinshasa hiring US lobbyists left and right

Already a Washington favourite, Félix Tshisekedi wants to cement ties with the Biden administration but also with Republicans in Congress. His Minister of Communication has signed on two lobbying firms, one on each side of the poitical divide.

Subscribers only Diplomacy 24.03.2022

DRC
Chinese miners hire Frontier Services Group for security training in troubled Kivus

The Chinese Enterprises Association in DR Congo hired Frontier Services Group (FSG) for security training in the wake of attacks on Chinese mining firms in North and South Kivu and Ituri provinces.

Subscribers only Mining 15.02.2022

DRC
Via subcontractors, China Railway moves in on all Congo's major mining projects

A company in which China Railway is a shareholder has taken over a subcontract at the Tenke Fungurume copper-cobalt mine. The contract was the subject of a dispute between the mine operator and its former subcontractor.

Subscribers only Infrastructure, Mining 14.12.2021

DRC
Yuma's sidelined rivals rise to top at Gécamines

The new Gécamines chairman, Alphonse Kaputo Kalubi, was for a long time sidelined by Albert Yuma, who has just been ousted from the helm of the state-owned mining company. It seems that the new managing director appointed at the same time was not a Yuma favourite either.

Subscribers only Mining 09.12.2021

China, DRC
Beijing scrabbles to rescue its reputation in DRC mining sector

China's supremacy in Congolese mining has recently been challenged by both the government in Kinshasa and by Washington's renewed influence in the DRC. Beijing, in a bid to counteract this trend, has overhauled its previous communications strategy to focus on transparency and human rights.

Subscribers only Mining 24.09.2021

China, DRC, United States
How Washington pushed Tshisekedi to renegotiate Kabila's China contracts

The president's plans to revise all the contracts the DRC has signed with China were largely inspired by the United States.

Subscribers only Mining 25.06.2021

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi (left) during a meeting with Mike Pompeo, the Trump administration's Secretary of State in Washington, on 3 March 2020.

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DRC
Amos Hochstein
Antony Blinken
APLC
China Machinery Engineering Corp
China Molybdenum Co
China Railway Group
Christophe Lutundula
Dan Gertler
Donald Trump
FBI
Felix Tshisekedi
Freeport-McMoRan
Gecamines
General Electric
Guylain Nyembo
JDE Group
Jean-Claude Kabongo
Joe Biden
Joseph Kabila
Jules Alingete
Léon Mwine Kabiena
Lucy Tamlyn
Mike Hammer
Sama Lukonde Kyenge
Sinohydro
Tenke Fungurume Mining
Thierry Mbulamoko
Union pour la democratie et le progres social
Xi Jinping
Xu Jinghu
Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co
Zhu Jing

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In Focus | DRC, United States US disillusioned over failure to turn DR Congo away from Beijing

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create a free account

Set up email notifications for these topics

DRC Sanctions against Dan Gertler continue to divide Washington

DRC Belgian ambassador's low-profile meeting with Joseph Kabila

DRC Sicomines dispute likely to cast shadow over Tshisekedi's Beijing trip

DRC Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang keeps close eye on eastern DRC

DRC Kinshasa hones Sicomines strategy ahead of talks with Chinese partner

DRC Kinshasa blocks Sicomines imports to force contract review

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Inner circles | DRC Gécamines boss Kaputo Kalubi stymied by political interference

In Focus | West Africa Where next for mining's wild child, Robert Friedland?

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DRC Via subcontractors, China Railway moves in on all Congo's major mining projects

DRC Yuma's sidelined rivals rise to top at Gécamines

China, DRC Beijing scrabbles to rescue its reputation in DRC mining sector

China, DRC, United States How Washington pushed Tshisekedi to renegotiate Kabila's China contracts

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Botswana, South Africa
From Gaborone to Antwerp, is De Beers's empire on the rocks?

Mali, Senegal, Togo
The secrets of Demex, the trader selling Russian oil in West Africa

In Focus | DRC, United States
US disillusioned over failure to turn DR Congo away from Beijing

DRC
Sanctions against Dan Gertler continue to divide Washington

DRC
Belgian ambassador's low-profile meeting with Joseph Kabila

DRC
Sicomines dispute likely to cast shadow over Tshisekedi's Beijing trip

DRC
Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang keeps close eye on eastern DRC

DRC
Kinshasa hones Sicomines strategy ahead of talks with Chinese partner

DRC
Kinshasa blocks Sicomines imports to force contract review

DRC
$15m luxury cars contract for DRC's embassies awarded to finance minister Kazadi's brother

Inner circles | DRC
Gécamines boss Kaputo Kalubi stymied by political interference

In Focus | West Africa
Where next for mining's wild child, Robert Friedland?

Guinea
Robert Friedland's discreet meetings with Guinea coup leader Doumbouya

Spotlight | Africa
ExxonMobil, Chevron, Marathon... US giants start mass exodus from the continent

DRC
France, UK and US seek to block Russian ambitions in DRC

DRC
Manono lithium keen to take better advantage of US investor interest

DRC
Fortescue has eyes on Dan Gertler's former iron ore project

DRC
Anglo American shows renewed interest in Lualaba and Haut-Katanga

DRC
Taiwan tries to force the DRC to repay a 30-year-old debt

DRC
State firm competes with local and foreign groups on mining freight market

DRC
Trafigura plays catch-up on cobalt and copper with two deals worth a billion dollars

Spotlight | DRC
Several paths forward for giant Manono lithium project

DRC
Huayou Cobalt tries to salvage its Congolese supply

DRC
Kinshasa hiring US lobbyists left and right

DRC
Chinese miners hire Frontier Services Group for security training in troubled Kivus

DRC
Via subcontractors, China Railway moves in on all Congo's major mining projects

DRC
Yuma's sidelined rivals rise to top at Gécamines

China, DRC
Beijing scrabbles to rescue its reputation in DRC mining sector

China, DRC, United States
How Washington pushed Tshisekedi to renegotiate Kabila's China contracts